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The interior spaces
available for carving are the four bays that each surround
a doorway. The themes are principally mythological, with a
bias to the Ramayana and the Life of Krishna (both,
therefore, featuring avatars of Vishnu). For convenience,
we describe the scenes in anti-clockwise order, beginning
with the W bay, on your right as you enter the pavilion:
W bay, N side
A god-like figure stands in a doorway, surrounded by
adoring women. One interpretation of this scene is when
Shiva comes among the hermits disguised as a beggar to
test their pride in having overcome the world of the
senses (Shiva Bhikshatanamurti). The wives of the hermits,
however, are all attracted to Shiva, causing the hermits
to be jealous. Another possibility, suggested by the
reptile over the door, is the demon Ravana taking the form
of a chameleon in order to insinuate himself into the
women's quarters of Indra's palace. Against this, the
reptile looks very much like a crocodile, and compares
with the equally enigmatic crocodile over the image of
Vishnu on the W wall of the central sanctuary of Prasat
Kravan
W bay, over door
From the Life of Krishna: The child Krishna crawls on the
ground, his foot tied to a stone by his loster mother
Yashocla, who has had enough of his mischief. He uproots
two trees (in fact two gods transformed into this state
until they should see Krishna) by dragging the stone
between them, and they transform back into gods. The scene
is framed in a naga arch.
W bay, S side
A 20-armed, multi-headed Ravana shakes Mount Kailasa,
enraged when his path had been barred by Nadikeshvara on
the instructions of Shiva who was spending time there with
Uma.
S bay, Wside
Kama, the God of Love, at the request of Uma, fires an
arrow at Shiva, in order to wake him from meditation.
Shiva, who appears here as a hermit with beard and rosary,
is understandably annoyed at being so disturbed, and kills
Kama. At the bottom, next to the image of him firing the
arrow, you can see Kama lying dead, mourned by his wife
Rati. According to the legend Kama was reduced to ashes
and would have had no body. This representation shows the
Khmer sculptors adapting the legend lor their own
purposes.
S bay, over door
From the Life of Krishna: two consecutive scenes framed in
a naga arch. At left, Krishna is seated with a hermit as a
figure emerges from a wall of flames; at right, he fights
with the same figure, who is unidentified. These scenes
have not been linked to exact episdodes in Krishna's life
and again may be a Khmer adaptation.
S bay, E side
From the Ramayana: The fight between the monkey brothers
Valin and Sugriva. At the top Rama comes to the aid of his
friend Sugriva by shooting Valin with an arrow. Below,
Valin on his death-bed, mourned by his wife Tara (whom he
had taken from Sugriva) and other monkeys. In four panels
below, next to the window, are more monkey mourners with
wonderfully expressive faces and gestures.
E bay, S side
Badly damaged bas-relief with Shiva seated in meditation.
E bay, over door
Framed in a naga arch, a four-armed Vishnu receives
offerings held on trays by different kneeling worhsippers,
while apsaras tly overhead.
E bay, N side
The water festival at Dvaravati. On two registers, heavily
decorated boats are rowed across water full offish. In the
upper boat a chess game is in progress (you can even make
out differences between the pieces on the board; in the
lower boat ladies play with their children).
N bay, E side
From the Life of Krishna: wearing a three-pronged
headdress, and with his brother Balarama at his side,
Krishna lifts Mount Govardhana to shelter herdsmen and
their cattle from a torrential downpour sent by Indra (the
cause of Indra's anger was that the people had mistakenly
made a first offering to the Govardhana mountain rather
than to him). Hermits pray in the forest of the mountain;
cattle and villagers shelter below.
N bay, over door
From the Ramayana: At Sita's request, Rama fires an arrow
at a golden deer-the demon Maricha in disguise so that
Ravana can abduct Sita while she is alone in the forest.
The scene is framed in a naga arch.
N bay, W side
The Churning of the Sea of Milk (partly damaged). At the
bottom, over waves and fish, the asuras (left) and gods
(right) pull alternately on the body of the serpent Vasuki,
which is coiled around a pole which is Mount Mandara, to
churn the ocean and eventually release amrita, the elixir
of immortality. The mountain rests on the back of the
turtle Kurma, an avatar of Vishnu, while Vishnu in human
form controls the operation above with his leg around the
pole. Indra sits on top of the pole to steady it, and the
discs of the sun and moon appear on either side.
